The Sons of Thunder - Mark 3:17

Mark wrote how Jesus, “went up into a mountain, and called unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils. And Simon he surnamed Peter”, and in chapter three and verse seventeen of his book, Mark shares how Jesus called, “James and John” “The sons of thunder” where we read:

And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James;

and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:

The verse reads, “And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James;” Mark began with the words, “and James” or “supplanter” “the son of Zebedee” which means “who was the offspring and prodigy of Zebedee whose name means my gift and was a fisherman of Galilee”, “and John” or “Jehovah is a gracious giver” “the brother of James” which means “who was James the son of Zebedee's brother”. Mark shared how Jesus also chose “James and John” who were brothers and the sons of “Zebedee” the fisherman in Galilee.

The verse goes on to say, “and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:” Mark continued with the words “and he surnamed them” which means “and Jesus changed the names of James and John to” “Boanerges, “which is, The sons of thunder” which means exactly what it says, “the sons of thunder”. Mark noted how Jesus changed “James and John's names” to “sons of thunder”.

When we meditate upon Mark's words in this verse, we see how Jesus not only changed “Simon's name, but He also renamed “James and John” whom He called to be His ministers. These brothers were called “sons of thunder” because of their quick reactive responses to contrary conditions. They were much like the sounding of “thunder” when they spoke and acted. At one point when they were rejected by the Samaritans to cross through their land we read, “And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?” (See Luke 9:54) It is interesting that Jesus was able to work with all of His “twelve chosen men”. With “Simon” or “shifting sand” and “James and John” who were “sons of thunder”, Jesus made them some of the greatest ministers the world has ever known. Sometimes people think their background or past will keep them from serving God, but we see through the renaming of these men, God is able to work with anyone who will yield their life to His Son Jesus who will reshape, remold, recast and perhaps rename them for His glory.

Next time Mark shares the names of more of the disciples of Jesus, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".